The exact numbers of those killed on 9/11 will probably never be known. The best estimation of the totals include 40 killed in the crash in Pennsylvania, 184 in Washington and 2749 (the most uncertain numbers) in New York. On Moday in Houston a field of US flags was laid out in their memory but that is both incredibly offensive to some of those killed and conceals the reality of 9/11, it was not a uniquely American loss. To pretend it was both dishonors some of the dead, denies the grief of those who mourn them and distorts the perception of the disaster.
In this I find myself surprisingly in tune with the sentiments of Christopher Hitchens.
More than 80 nationalities, as well as many people of all faiths, were numbered among the victims of what was actually an assault on civilization. To commemorate it as a “national” day would be to miss a large part of its point.
The relatives of the 67 Britons killed gathered in two places. The smaller one was in a memorial garden in New York half a mile from “Ground Zero”. Prince Andrew made a speech but also spoke to some of the relatives who had chosen to be there. One whose son was killed, Patricia Bingley, 72, from the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea in eastern England, said
It seems like it’s going to be a little English garden which we need here in New York for when British relatives come over.
….
I feel much closer to my son here in New York, it’s more comforting.
A symbolic 67 British police paid their own way to attend the Ground Zero ceremony to express solidarity with their colleagues from the NYPD who died that day.
More relatives attended a simple gathering in London’s Grosvenor Square next to the US Embassy. The ceremony was private at their request – so much so that the police refused to let some in as they had been given the wrong list. In that memorial garden they planted crosses with white roses, the symbol of England, to remember their loved one. Buried under that ground is a beam recovered from the debris of the WTC. Also there were representatives from Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial company who lost almost their entire New York staff in the WTC leaving the London operation to rebuild the business. For the last five years they have given 25% of their profits to a trust to help the relatives of their dead and will continue to provide healthcare insurance for the dependents for the next 5 years.
The relatives in London included those who have no grave to grieve at. The families’ representatives called into guestion the continued operation to identify the fragments of tissue that are stored in a tent next to the site and which are intended to be moved to the WTC memorial. There, there will be a forensic laboratory trying to use DNA techniques to provide identities as the science improves. She asked how many funerals are they expected to organise as more shards of flesh are confirmed as being the remains of their loved one? How many more times must the emotional wounds of that day five years ago be torn open?
I have no answers but in all the ceremonies and grand designs, perhaps it is time to listen to those who grieve for the people they love rather than those who want to exploit their continuing sorrow to justify yet more killing.